Context sensitive help is help information that is provided to a user based on the operation being performed in a software application at the time the request for help is made. As such, context sensitive help is different than standard help that requires a user to search for a specific help topic or to select a help topic from an index of topics.
In traditional context sensitive help systems, references to help topics are inserted into the source code of an application and mapped to a specific help topic. Thus, there is a one-to-one mapping between an area in the application and a help topic. This can result inefficiencies if the help information changes during development and implementation of the application.
In practice, the development of application code and the creation of help topics for applications are done by two separate teams. Typically, application code is developed by software developers and help topics are written by a team of technical writers. Thus, coordination is needed between the developers and the help topic writers to ensure that context sensitive help topics are written for the correct areas of the application code. This can be a labor intensive process that creates inflexibility because code development is a dynamic process, subject to frequent change. Often, because of the need to meet product deadlines, the development of help topics is not made a priority. In some cases, there is insufficient time to add help topics to an application.